This news is spreading rapidly over the net. It seems that the PS3 is good for something other than playing your Blu-Ray discs. News For Gamers have completed the PS3 version of Bioshock, to discover a fifteen second teaser for the second game. It’s apparently called Bioshock 2: The Sea Of Dreams and you’ll find images from it beneath the cut. EDIT: Also, thanks to the comment-threaders, video. Go watch!
Initial impressions: Well, due to the extra few years, people are going to be able to write slash fiction about the Little Sisters without feeling quite as monstrous.
UPDATE: The Video…
Further impressions: Telekinetic sandcastle building is a splendid thing.
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weirdly enough i reinstalled Bioshock the other day with the intention of playing through it with more exploration and experimentation but then i fired up Crysis: Warhead and exploded a train
I liked the Big Daddy sackboy, it was a cool way to identify the woman as a Little Sister and to indicate their disturbed mental state post-Rapture.
I think the desire for a prequel is logical. You see the ruined Rapture and wonder at how cool it would have been before, but I think it’s better left unseen.
Apart from the fall itself, which would have you treading over similar ground, it wouldn’t actually make for a good FPS.
SEA OF DREAMS
Sounds like such a stupid title. I think there was a spyflick with that name, actually.
A wet Fallout 2 with guns then?
I wasn’t particularly keen on the idea of a second Bioshock. But that video’s won me over and reading the comments reminded just how much I was in love with that game.
Despite it’s rubbishy ending.
That trailer captures just the right note of wistfulness and beauty that makes me thinks that they might, just right, get Bioshock 2 right.
Bioshock was one of those games I got it completely wrong over. After playing it initially, some trivial thing annoyed me and I didn’t go back to it for several months. I’m very glad I did.
P.
I spring clean my PC regularly, removing games I don’t play any more and tidying up the desktop. Occasionally a game has such an impact on me, though, that I’ll leave it installed as my own, personal memorial of thanks to the developers.
Bioshock was one such title for me. The icon is still on my desktop.
I admit the ending was a little too formulaic compared to the rest of the game, but come on you nay sayers, don’t you remember anything else? The unbelievable atmosphere? The constant twists? The… fear? And the Oh My God shock at ‘that scene’? It was dramatic, emotional art brought to gaming in a way I’ve rarely experienced. Frankly I can’t wait for more of the same.
Oh, and as someone who’s on the verge of completing Fallout 2 while he waits impatiently for 3 to come out, um… gotta go with ‘No’ on the ‘Wet Fallout 2′ comment, even with guns! Sorry.
Yes, but will it have DRM?
I’m hoping it will incorporate elements of Al Pacino flick Sea of Love, in which you get to see his bum. Hopefully a whole (hole) level will be based around entering his anus with a Big Daddy’s drill.
…giving Mr. Pacino ample opportunity to say “hoo hah!”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3ZIDT63UOA
P.
The Big Daddy conversion facility is littered with human-sized yellow tanks for subject conversion yet you never take a dip in one, which I found a bit jarring.
It’s a brilliant game though, even the bit people diss on is better than almost any game out there. A sequel is absolutely welcome.
I hope it isn’t a sequel: I mean, you have nothing to go from in either endings and they were trite and forgettable anyway.
I hear Ken Levine is actually well away from this one, so maybe it will be good?
But of course, I have been burned before.
Never again, preorder. Never again.
Does anyone else think Bioshock is overrated???
Wasn’t the control scheme and combat, kind of well, SHIT.
Anyone?
Looks like the Return To Rapture.
Little Sister: “We have to go back!”
So fucking dull, I’ve had enough of 50s retro futurism. It just bores me now, blame the Fallout 3 PR fatigue.
I thought it was one of the worst things to hit the industry this decade. Not because it’s inherently worse than anything else – although it’s an utterly laughably shit attempt at immersion and “sophistication” in a mediocre, by-the-numbers title – but most definitely on account of everyone being on the “artsy” KoolAid as a result.
The only reason I’m still holding on to my special edition copy is so I can sell it at outrageously huge prices a couple of years down the line. Might as well turn a complete and utter waste of time, patience and effort into a financial opportunity.
Mogs: If it turns out to be such an idea, then truly, Irrational haven’t an original bone left in their body, let alone care for coherency in a story.
But why fucking bother anyway now that they know they can get away with selling shit and will get their balls licked for it?
Dracko, I really cannot fathom that level of hatred, considering we’re talking about the video games industry here – one which has pumped out literally tonnes of vapid, shallow shovelware. Even if Bioshock had completely failed at what it set out to do (and I don’t think it did, far from it) it set its sights admirably high.
P.
Oh no, they didn’t…
I refuse to let the hype swallow me again.
Mogs, that’s exactly what it reminded me of, too.
(Presuming you’re reffing what I think you are.)
And, I genuinely can’t understand any hate of Bioshock. If you think it’s overrated, fair, but as Paul says… they were trying for something, and maybe it was a little pretentious and maybe they failed, even. But look at the fucking context.
How many games out the same month were dull black-and-grey shooters, or grindy RPGs, or Wii “waggle tacked on” sports games?
(Also, that may have sounded angrier than it was. Attempt at passion, don’t think I’m starting shit.)
Good Christ but I do adore Bioshock.
Paul Moloney: It only does so in name alone. As far as intent goes, there was simply nothing there.
Quake had more strategy and atmosphere to it than BioShock did.
And the difference is: Most shovelware and vapid crap doesn’t pretend to be anything other than that. Irrational want to put a giant sticker with ART! written on it on a game where you have to press one of two buttons to get screwed over for not going down the set morally safe path they always had in mind and expects brownie points for it.
They can fuck right off, the snivelling hypocrites.
“Most shovelware and vapid crap doesn’t pretend to be anything other than that. ”
Halo 3? Gears of War 2?
Regarding the whole big daddy conversion, two parts of it where distinctly irreversible. One was the voice box, as several people noted. The other was a pheromone producer, which while not noticeable to most, was certainly key to the Little Sisters.
So, in the ‘good’ ending, you see that Jack dies while the little sisters appear to be adults. With just a slight touch of retcon, this could just be artistic license, and they could have been teens, such as the one in the trailer… so, what if the Little Sister ‘family’ breaks apart, or certain members start to go a bit insane once they are no longer around the pheromones they where genetically reprogrammed to crave the presence of go away? That, along with the suggestions about ‘ghosts’ and various other collective unconsious stuff from the first game sort of ties up the potential backstory for me.
All in all, I’m ready for Bioshock 2. It wasn’t as good as the System Shock games, story/villain wise, but gameplay wise it was considerably more enjoyable (anyone who thinks otherwise… I think nostalgia goggles are tied on a bit too tight).
@Dracko
Fine, you didn’t like Bioshock, but is it realy necessary to be such an obnoxious twit about those who did. People have different tastes, and I thought RPS folk were beyond treating those they disagreed with as though they were brainwashed idiots. From a personal standpoint I’m not a major fan of the FPS mechanic, but enjoyed Bioshock for its atmosphere and sense of place. You may not see this as all that important in a game, but for me, exploration is one of the most enjoyable aspects of gaming, and atmosphere and place is very important for this.
“As far as intent goes, there was simply nothing there.”
So, you don’t think any thought was put into the extremely detailed setting, the use of Art Deco styling, the characterisation, the set pieces, the surreal dialog…?
And saying that Quake, of all games, excelled in this? Extremely bizarre. I mean, here is the Quake “story”:
“The player takes the role of an unnamed soldier sent into a portal to stop an enemy, code named “Quake”. The government has been experimenting with teleportation technology, and created a working prototype called a “Slipgate”, in order to carry out an attack: Operation Counterstrike. Unfortunately, a portal to Quake’s own dimension has been opened, and death squads begin to emerge, killing and robbing as much as they can before returning through the gate, destroying Operation Counterstrike in the process, which leaves only the soldier alive. Once sent through the portal, the player’s main objective is to survive and locate the exit which will take him to the next level, not unlike that of id Software’s previous hit, Doom.”
Wow.
P.
All in all, I’m ready for Bioshock 2. It wasn’t as good as the System Shock games, story/villain wise, but gameplay wise it was considerably more enjoyable (anyone who thinks otherwise… I think nostalgia goggles are tied on a bit too tight).
I completely disagree, i mean the controls of system shock 2 are a bit dodgy now but the atmosphere I think is still better, not only that but the RPG elements inventory style and weapons make it still the better game for me. Also I thought the gameplay of bioshock was a bit hit and miss and found the shooting a little off which wasn’t particularly forgivable as it was a shooter.
However all that aside I still appreciate the beauty of Bioshock and what it was doing, especially at the time of really shallow shooters.
Also come on people lets bring back the PC love, we are all in it together.
I’ve been watching my roommate play Bioshock and it’s just as great to watch as it was to play all those months ago. Definitely looking forward to the sequel.
And, errr, I really wouldn’t bother with Dracko guys. He’s just an “angry internet man” sent here to make our lives miserable. Don’t mind the troll, etc.
In Bioshock 2 you play as Ken Levine and you pitch around the game to gene spliced publishers:)
*SPOILERS* Why you fools didn’t warn people before talking about events late in Bioshock, I’ll never know.
The Big Daddy conversion would probably have been irreversible for any normal person or splicer, but not ‘Jack’, who is the only Pure-Spliced person, not born and converted but grown from the beginning to be able to hold lots of Tonics and Plasmids without going insane or growing tumours.
He’s also has access to the vita-chambers which could potentially fully regenerate him back to his pre-Daddyfied stated.
The teaser suggests that either of the endings could have happened. A Sister could still pine after Rapture even if Good Jack was able to protect and provide for them at the surface. Evil Jack would need a supply of Adam and Eve as he invades the world to fuel his powers and Splicer army. He would have taken some Sisters with him and even made more of them when he established a stronghold somewhere on land. Any new Sisters(which would allow the story to continue beyond the 70s or 80s as this Sister looks to be in her teens or 20s) could recieve ghost memories from the Adam-slugs and give them the urge to go back to Rapture.
It could even be that their powers cause them to re-build Rapture on the surface, or raise it from the ocean.
In Bioshock 2 you play as a
hackerLittle Sister who returns toCitadel StationRapture only to discover thatSHODANAndrew Ryan wasn’t fully destroyed and is secretly rebuilding an army ofcyborgssplicers to conquer the Earth.Dracko: Um, I took the “evil” path and didn’t get screwed over. Liked the ending I got (would have used the first nuke on Rapture).
Assuming Quake comparison is hyperbole because it doesn’t make sense otherwise.
@AsubstanceD: Atmosphere, all in all, is a mixed bag to me. System Shock 1 & 2 had an excellent atmosphere. So did Bioshock. I like sci-fi better than neo-20’s, but the steampunk edge was nice… so I can’t really say which is better. But I wasn’t talking about atmosphere. I’ll give you that the System Shock games stand up well on atmosphere even still.
I just mean the gameplay. The shooting etc. I personally found the inventory in SS2 to be clumsy, and the UI overlay to be quite sub-par, even for when it came out. The shooting was overall decent, but the weapon degredation was a poor gameplay element. Ammo availability was plenty of a limitation enough. SS1 is just plain horrible UI and controls, however wonderful the story, atmosphere and characters where (and are, and will forever be).
Well, I guess to really be true to form, the sequel would take place on a
starshipcruise ship, but the crew would recover a piece ofCitadel StationRapture floating inspacethe ocean containing a clone ofSHODANFontaine, who proceeds to hijack the ship and turn the crew intohybridssplicers.No, actually to be true to form it would have to resemble SS1, since BioShock apparently already resembled SS2. I mean, it had a wrench and everything, unbelievable!
i read the trailer as:
bioshock, but on land = barnacles! (seaside) + sandcastles! (seaside) = blackpool pleasure beach gone amok
little sister with string daddy = string daddies are otherwise innocuous hammocks but if you try to sleep in the wrong one it eats your face
overall this could be brighton rock in game form. but probably isn’t.
edit: (if i could) apparently brighton rock is set in london, my apologies to citizens of blackpool
It’s as if her thoughts are manifesting themselves – wonder just how powerful she is? Look what she’s doing with the sand without really thinking about it.
I’m interpreting the whole butterfly from the barnacle thing as something beautiful coming out of Rapture. But I can’t decide whether or not the little bigger sister is disturbed or mournful in that vid – probably both. If I wanted to take the metaphor to an extreme, I could point out that although the butterfly “escapes” it doesn’t leave. Maybe she’s home-sick? Would it have been better in the long run to have destroyed the little sisters when we had the opportunity.
Maybe you play a little sister this time round?
Well I certainly didn’t get that much from the clip, but if you stop the video at 0:35 and look carefully at the girl’s left buttock it clearly reveals that in the next game the person guiding you via audio clips turns out to be your enemy. Spoiler!
I’m going to take the easy way out of this conversation and say that “I don’t give two shits about speculation until the game is shipping”.
Even at a little over a minute and a half that teaser has already got my brain working overtime on the potential of Bioshock 2.
http://www.eegra.com/pages/show/title/16_10_2008_EXCLUSIVE__BIOSHOCK_2_BOXART_/
I read this on another website and this one guy had an idea that I thought was great!
What if that little girl is Tenebaum and the story will be a prequel. Rapture rises like in the sand.
Probably wont be a prequel but if it was that would be great!
The idea of “we have to go back” from “LOST” is a stupid idea.
Colin – she’s holding a Big Daddy doll, but they hadn’t been invented when Tenenbaum was ~16.
(p.s. I know that I’m pointing out potential chronological inconsistencies in a clip that apparently shows psychokinesis)
There are lots of videos of the trailer on Youtube. It’s pretty uninteresting, and I still think the younger little sisters are hotter than the grown up versions…
Well, that was one of the least representative trailers I’ve seen since the last DNF trailer…
Mm, looks quite nice for me.
Looks to me like the ***SPOILER*** little sisters lived (so good ending) /SPOILER***, and that now you play in the repercussions of that city, etc.
I sense an awful ‘return’ though, that feels really forced.
Here’s what I get just from the Logo:
1)Sequel. Now there are barnacles, but the original was only rusted.
2) On land. See the butterfly. There is also the city in the sand.